As we hear daily news of dismal job creation numbers nationwide, Alabaster is doing its best to break away from the trend.

The city will see 150 new jobs at the Shelby West Corporate Park from Hibbett Sports moving its distribution center from Birmingham to Alabaster.

The news also means new construction jobs in Alabaster, as Hibbett will build a new 360,000-square-foot center just north of the Shelby County Airport.

However, the job creation possibilities don’t stop there. Hibbett hopes to eventually grow the facility to 500,000 square feet as they work to double the number of stores the company has.

The news about Hibbett came not long after the Alabama Crown Distributing Company announced it would bring about 75 jobs to Alabaster as it finalizes construction of a new $18 million facility, which is expected to open sometime this summer.

With these two additions, the city will see at least 225 jobs, and likely more as these businesses grow. That’s a feather in the cap of Alabaster leadership, including Mayor David Frings, and those who represent the city in the state Legislature, such as state Sen. Cam Ward.

Alabaster is positioning itself for positive growth, both in business and otherwise. Those jobs will be available for current Alabaster residents, and will provide a way for the city to bring in new residents, which will, in turn, help the city’s economy as it continues a comeback and, hopefully, spur other businesses to make the move to Alabaster.

We appreciate the hard work put in by residents and city officials to promote Alabaster as a business-friendly and family friendly locale. The city, one of Shelby County’s leaders, is starting a job creation trend any city its size should envy.

Coming back from the economic downturn has been slow going across the county and the state, but Alabaster is starting to put its foot on the gas. We hope city officials find ways to spur more economic growth — and based on their track record, we have no doubt they will.

The We Say is the opinion of the Shelby County Reporter editorial board.